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Edward Lear has entertained generations of readers with his limericks, his nonsense verse and his invented words, like “splendido-phoropherostiphongious”, to convey a brilliantly-happy occasion. But real life was not always so much fun for him. As a 10-year-old boy, he was abused by both his cousin and his brother, according to new research.

The horror of the 1822 incident never left him. Decades later, he referred to the anniversary of “the greatest Evil done to me in life” in a diary entry.

Biographers had known that the cousin was involved, but now an academic at the University of St Andrews has uncovered new evidence that Lear’s older brother was also an active participant.